Brian Desmond

By far the best MCU movie post Infinity Saga and probably in the top 5-6 in the MCU cannon. This may be the MCU movie with the biggest fun factor as well. What really stuck out to me was how into this movie the Spidey retreads seemed to be thru their screen presence. Toby and Andrew Garfield both seemed to really enjoy doing this. They oozed positivity. If they didn’t enjoy the process of making this movie then they’re much better actors than I would’ve ever thought they were. Molina, Fox and most of all Defoe really shined on the rogues gallery side. Loved that they had Goblin shed that dumb helmet-mask for the hood and goggles. Great look. Go see it. Blast of a flick!

There is enough here to enjoy. Not the best MCU movie and probably outside my top ten, but much better than what the critics would have you believe. The ensemble cast did a good job and had solid chemistry. I thought Barry Keoghan as Druig was the best character depiction in the film. I enjoyed the choices made within the story about how The Celestials use planets as hosts for breeding and re-cycling used planets in order to make new systems. But I generally enjoy universe building stories in general even those with obvious flaws. The Deviants unfortunately never really feel like a real antagonistic force, instead they’re there to help tell the story and be used as fodder for action sequence. But in the end well worth watching. And if they take the negative feedback and use it properly I do believe a sequel could be even better. A different type of Marvel Movie that has some pacing issues but in the end delivers enough of the goods.

The MCU continues to have a villain problem. I never once thought The Mandarin was sticking around or creating any real problems for the protagonists. He was neither imposing figure nor a cerebral adversary. I thought the film set up pretty well in the first act, act and a half but went for big screen spectacle in lieu of finishing off a well crafted story. I get that it’s the MCU and in the end it’s all spectacle to some extent but it works better when you have a good story. Ben Kingsleys character is idiotically Jar-Jar Binks’d into another MCU film, and it really started to lose me in one of the hokiest car chase scenes ever when Trevor Slattery, an Ewok with no face and the three main characters are driving through an enchanted forest in a funny car. Hope Eternals delivers better than this.

I see a lot of the same movie that was originally released with some filler added in, and slo-mo utilized in EVERY FREAKING SCENE!! Got halfway through the movie and was bored . Mild Spoilers: They did a bit of a better job explaining “the unity” and they introduce the anti-life equation towards the end of part 4. There’s more Cyborg back story as well which was OK . They did a better job with the appearance of Steppenwolf and the Para-Demons. But through two hours there’s nothing here that screams “oh, these decisions make the story so much better!” I might pick up and watch the second half in the next day or two, but I’m not doing so with baited breath. If Parts 5-8 blow me away, I’ll gladly come back to this review and eat crow. Not counting on it though.